Friday again

Makloubeh for lunch

The past few days have been very busy. Rushing from one place to another ... the workload that had piled up during the Easter holidays had to be dealt with immediately. Though classes in the universities have not yet resumed, other things like visiting and giving conferences to tour groups and increased significantly this week because after Easter/Passover, the hotels are cheaper so tourists take advantage of this period.

On Tuesday the President of Israel came to our Latin Patriarchate to meet with the Apostolic Administrator, the Greek and Armenian Patriarchs as well, to send his Easter greetings to the christian community in the Holy Land. This cordial exchange is seen as a great improvement in the relationship between the Jewish State and the Christian communities. It's nice to be able to talk and dialogue. But unfortunately not everyone shares the same sentiments. There were orthodox jews spitting and cursing christians during the Easter celebrations. If it were christians doing to jews on the Passover, they would have been arrested for anti-semitism.  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/President-Rivlin-Plight-of-Christians-in-Middle-East-stain-on-humanity-488346

The attack on the desert monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai Peninsular by ISIS 2 days ago has horrified us all. We knew ISIS was heading south of the peninsular but did not realize how fast they could do it. Obviously they are working through the bedouin tribes that are lawlessly controlling the peninsular. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4950734,00.html

Traditional Easter bread (leaven)
with an egg ... definitely not kosher

The Jewish Passover is over ... and there's still talk about how extreme the observance has been ... to the extant that even zoo animals had to eat unleaven food. We on the other hand had delicious makloubeh yesterday for lunch. It's rice cooked in chicken stock with chicken at the bottom of the rice pot ... but our cook did a vegetarian version of it.  Lots of brinjal, cauliflower and carrots. That's certainly not kosher for Passover ...  http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/1.783933

On a sad note as we celebrate Easter, an Iraqi Bishop criticized the West for caring more for animals than for Middle-Eastern christians. And I must say I agree with him. We are abandoned here. http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/iraqi-orthodox-bishop-the-west-cares-more-about-frogs-than-us

I think though the new asthma medication has been very successful at containing my asthma, the side-effects are now showing. Yesterday the veins on my left hand burst. My thumb and fore-finger were swollen and purple. This is usually the first sign that the cortisone is too strong. Soon my feet will swell. I hate it ... but if I don't take the medication, I'll die of asthma (or a heart attack that the asthma induces, as the doc always says).